Where do we go from here?
When starting to write this final blog post, my mind was filled with one liners. The best is yet to come. This is the end, my friends. Friday, Friday, gotta get down it’s Friday. Okay, maybe not that last one.
It does feel like a bit of a swirling mass that has no end or beginning, yet has grown in size. Is it a hurricane, growing in strength? Are we now a force with which to be reckoned? So much has been added to my thought processes. Why am I making the choices I am? Why am I doing what I’m doing? Why should I be doing something else? How do I think about my relationship to technology? My students’ relationship to technology? That of my colleagues? So many questions, and not nearly as many answers. However, I do see it as positive that these questions are part of my thought processes.
Thought is life. Without thought, I have difficulty comprehending something as living. It certainly isn’t a life that I would choose to live. Yet again recently research was published showing that the more active we are in thought as we get older, the better health and mental health we enjoy. Perhaps the same should be researched with careers… The more thought we put into our jobs, the better job we do and the more we enjoy it as we move through the decades…? I think it’s an avenue well worth exploring if it hasn’t already been done. The effects of professional development on teacher cognitive ability? Lower burnout rates? Increased physical health? PhD, please!
Where do I go from here? Well, Hamlet at Bard on the Beach tonight. Beyond that, I return to my lovely island home, and settle into some summer activities such as reading, gardening, walking, and even more reading. I plan to tackle some digital organization, such as my bookmarks, the files on my computers, and form some lists on TweetBot. I’d like to get a few more things organized and ready onto my iPad to be ready for potential use with classes, such as pictures and videos. I don’t know what I’ll be doing in the fall, be it back on contract or TOCing, but technology will be a part of it. With a reason why.
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Just keep those questions coming! Sometimes I feel really stressed by having so many questions and few or no answers. I feel really fortunate to be encouraged by Jenny to ask so many questions. I had never had the chance to do my own inquiry project in grade school or university. Letting students do inquiry and doing an inquiry project myself are very different. I agree that being aware of all your questions in your thought process is definitely a positive! As a teacher, the trick is being able able to guide our students questions, and help them to ask questions that will be useful to their own learning.
While on the subject of questions I was intrigued by your question about putting more thought in our jobs. I love being a student again because it feels like I am putting a lot more thought into my own practices. Most of us are extremely motivated teachers and naturally put a lot of thought into how we can improve as a teacher. I certainly agree with your statement because doing something well is directly associated to enjoying doing it.
Good luck with your organizing and tweetbot. Hey, I just learned what tweetbot is!
This sounds like a good plan to me, Brianne. There is much uncertainty ahead in the field of education. One thing is for sure, a teacher who is comfortable with technology, and who is able to grasp the significance of changing educational practice to meet 21st century societal needs, is going to find a way to teach and learn in the profession. Your work in this course has shown a real grasp in understanding what is at stake, and why it is important.